In our monastic training, we try to create a very low standard of what we need in life. I took care of my elderly mother for about nine years until she died. During that time, I lived with her in her condo apartment in Ottawa. When an extremely old person died, it was sometimes mentioned on TV or in the newspaper. Once, there was a British airman who died at 113 years of age; my mum was ninety-thr…

When we sit down to meditate, we are paying attention to whatever meditation object we use. When using the breath, we are paying attention to the in-breath, the out-breath; paying attention to the body; soothing the body with the breath; settling the mind with the breath-filled body. There’s an ease that comes from that awareness and mindfulness. There’s the appreciation of stillness, tranquility,…

You think, ‘This is a rip-off! I’ve been struggling away for five or six years with fear and lust and so on, and now I get to the free space – here we are out in the open – and it’s a desert. This is not right!’ But then, what you realize is that this is not what the Buddha was pointing to as the goal of the holy life, because even though one can’t see any outstanding objects causing obstruction o…

Theravada Buddhism, for instance, is often taken to represent the Hinayana position, the self-concern of ‘Quick, let me out of here, I’ve had enough of this mess; I want this to be over as quickly as possible.’ One can see that that represents a very definite stage in one’s own spiritual development. For example, we start out with just a worldly attitude; basically we’re not interested in spiritua…

In our first newsletter we included a picture of two of us walking in October sunshine along this wide, clear path in the Milntuim Woods. The path itself is clear. To the right and left are interesting digressions (in this case, there is a swamp on the left and a thicket on the right). Ahead, there is open countryside and the radiant light of the sun. It reminded me of the journey that each of us…

Meditation practice requires the bodily, conceptual, and heart-based intelligences to work together. As a standard, the advice is to simplify the activity of conceptual intelligence to that of placing a thoughtful listening onto an aspect of body or heart. And to then sense how that feels, or what response arises. Some details to consider are: With what attitude and energy do you place your attent…

On a number of occasions, the Buddha described the Path of Spiritual Practise as a spiritual progression or evolution. [See note from the book below] On one such occasion, in answer to the query about how to realize the cessation of I-making, he elaborated as follows: ‘A person hears the Dhamma taught by the Buddha or one of his disciples. They gain faith and, recognizing that it is not easy to pr…

If we were to measure our thoughts in terms of their quantity, we’d have to say that we’re really good at thinking. In terms of their quality, it’s another matter. Very rarely do we pay much attention to quality; it’s more a matter of being interested in whatever the mind churns up. Some people are better at directing their thoughts for particular purposes, and other people just follow wherever th…

Sitting ten hours of meditation for one day is not so difficult. Doing it for ten days, then another ten, and yet another ten back-to-back is more of a challenge. It requires determination, stamina, patience, surrender, and a deep commitment to put forth energy even when you’re exhausted. At some point illness will be a part of the equation, too, and we must practice with and through it. What does…

As we settle into the retreat and keep bringing our attention and intention inwards, using the breath as an anchor, remember that our meditation is something we have to engage with. Just the physical act of sitting in one posture is not necessarily going to make the mind peaceful. Ajahn Chah used to say that he’s seen chickens sit on their nest for a long time and doesn’t see them get either wise…